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One of my favourite aspects of being a Personal Travel Manager is being able to find perfect holidays for every traveller. Perfection is definitely all about perspective. What may seem like a perfect holiday to you, may not be what everyone else is after.

By taking the time to talk with my clients, to get to know what they enjoy in life & what are looking for on each holiday, I am able to work with each client to create their perfect holiday. Whether it’s an extensive itinerary with something planned for every spare minute, or a relaxing cruise with lots of days at sea. You might want to treat yourself to Business Class for the first time in your life, or you might be looking for a unique cultural experience off the beaten track. Just let me know what your want from your holiday, and I will work with you to get you just that.

When I think of how I have helped to find “perfect holidays for every traveller” over the years, I think of one specific client who booked with me a few years ago. Angela had called to speak to me about taking her daughter away for their first holiday together. She was looking for the perfect cruise holiday that would be her daughter’s 18^th birthday present! Angela was booking more than a year ahead, to allow her time to save up her money & to get things organised.

We chatted for a while & found a cruise that would be perfect for them both – giving Angela some time to unwind, and making sure that her daughter could make friends & have a lot of fun along the way. At the time, I didn’t think much more about how this was the perfect holiday for this mother & her daughter, but over the next 18 months, I learnt just how perfect it was.

When the booking was paid off months earlier than it needed to, Angela emailed to thank me for changing her life – and she hadn’t even been on the cruise yet!

It turns out that Angela had been in an abusive marriage that she had finally escaped. She had to wait for her daughter turn 18, so that she could travel out of the country with having to involve the ex-husband. By booking a cruise on her own and paying it off well in advance, she proved to herself that she could stand on her own two feet and manage her finances without help.

Angela’s new confidence in herself had also helped her to lose more than 20kg! It took a moment to take in the enormity of the situation. All I had done was book a cruise holiday for her, but how much more perfect a holiday could there be?

I also remember speaking with a new client last year, who was thinking about cruising in Alaska with his wife & another couple. I had a lovely chat to Peter about the beauty & majesty of cruising the Inside Passage, from awe-inspiring glaciers to spectacular mountain ranges, and from cultural experiences to wildlife galore. We picked a cruise to suit them all & the perfect cabins, and he was happy to leave it at that.

When I asked Pete about his other plans, he told me that he had an extensive itinerary to plan around the USA & Canada, but that he’d talk to a “real travel agent” to help him with those plans. I was horrified! He was quite happy to book his cruise with me, but that he didn’t recognise that I was the also perfect travel agent to plan & book his entire holiday. I knew that I had to change his mind and quickly!

After letting Pete know that I had travelled extensively around the USA & Canada myself, we started a conversation about the places they wanted to visit & started discussing the experiences they were after along the way. Over the next few months & lots of lovely long chats, we worked together to put together the perfect holiday for all four travellers. We combined a Business Class experience, four wheel drive hire, a mix of boutique hotels & magnificent resorts, with a few National Park stays, and enough time to enjoy each town & city along the way – not forgetting their Alaskan cruise.

I had so much fun working with Pete to piece together a detailed plan for this once in a lifetime holiday. Not only were the two couples excited about their upcoming trip for their own reasons, but I also thrived on the challenge of ensuring that each of them had the perfect holiday.

Every traveller is unique & their holidays should also be. If a “cookie cutter” itinerary that you see advertised in the paper or online is your idea of the perfect holiday, I am very happy to book it for you. However, if you are looking for something unique that will give you memories that last a lifetime, I would love to work with you to ensure that your next holiday is perfect for you! ? Christie

NOTE: All names have been changed to protect the identity of some of my favourite clients, who will know who they are.